Chapter 170. Battle of Shanghai (2)
“What a nuisance.”
Asmodeus grumbled as he walked.
“I didn’t expect him to use a suicide attack.”
Black Dragon Society Chairman Jin Gahui had detonated all of his internal energy as a last resort.
Since the explosion had gone off right in front of him, even Asmodeus had taken some damage.
But the bigger problem was that he had lost track of Kang Yujin.
In the end, Asmodeus had no choice but to rely on Ha Mina.
They captured several Black Dragon Society executives and used Ha Mina’s magic to force the information out of them.
“So he was hiding inside a cave... No wonder he was difficult to find.”
Still, now that Asmodeus knew the location, all he had to do was go there and capture Kang Yujin.
He headed toward the coast, casually dealing with the weaklings who tried to stop him along the way.
It feels like Apostles are watching me.
Asmodeus could sense numerous Apostles nearby.
Apparently, many Constellations were observing him.
Once I unify the Material Realm... perhaps I should advance into the Spirit Realm as well.
Asmodeus had known for a long time that another world called the Spirit Realm existed in a different dimension.
Transcendent beings called Constellations supposedly lived there while watching over the human world.
Long ago... humans went to an afterlife when they died.
Aside from the ‘Hell’ where Pandemonium had once existed, countless different afterlives had existed throughout the universe.
Even China alone had possessed several.
Among them were realms where the dead could continue existing as ‘immortals.’
Then, one day...
a world called the Spirit Realm suddenly came into existence.
Special souls were sent there and became beings called Constellations.
Apparently, even those who had once become immortals now existed as Constellations in the Spirit Realm.
Yes... His Majesty told me about that too.
His Majesty.
Naturally, Asmodeus meant Lucifer.
Lucifer no longer existed in this world.
But Asmodeus still respected him.
The dream Your Majesty failed to achieve... I will accomplish all of it.
As the new Demon King.
Dreaming of eventually conquering even the Spirit Realm, Asmodeus quickened his pace.
And as he approached his destination and began looking around for the cave entrance...
“Hm?”
Three presences appeared.
Presences that could not be ignored.
There were...
three of them.
“Who are you?”
“The Three Venerables.”
All three were elderly.
Asmodeus frowned as he studied them.
One by one, they stepped forward.
“I am the Demon Venerable.”
A sharp-featured man with a long beard.
“This body is the Sword Venerable!”
A lively man wearing an eyepatch over one eye.
“And I am the Fist Venerable.”
A wrinkled woman with a lean, agile build.
“I see.”
Asmodeus remembered them.
“So you are the Black Dragon Society’s Three Venerables.”
They were among the Black Dragon Society’s most powerful figures.
Masters said to appear only when something serious happened.
“I don’t know whether you’ve heard, but Black Dragon Society Chairman Jin Gahui died by my hand.”
"..."
“A few days ago, I also killed Vice Chairman Liu Zhenping.”
“I didn’t count them all, but I’ve probably killed more than a thousand Black Dragon Society members by now.”
Asmodeus observed the three old masters as he spoke.
They aren’t particularly angry.
Contrary to his expectations, their expressions barely changed.
He had expected them to rush at him in rage.
Instead...
they simply stood there, staring at him coldly.
No.
Asmodeus looked more carefully.
Then he reached a conclusion.
Those are the faces of people who have already made up their minds.
The three old masters exchanged glances.
Watching them, Asmodeus spoke.
“How would you like to do this?”
“One at a time?”
“Or all three together?”
"..."
No answer came.
Instead...
the eyepatched old man, the Sword Venerable, stepped forward.
“So you’re my first opponent?”
“You look young, yet you speak rather rudely.”
Asmodeus looked mildly amused.
“I may look like this, but I’ve probably lived several dozen times longer than you.”
“I know!”
The Sword Venerable grinned and kicked off the ground.
Watching him leap forward, Asmodeus wondered what kind of attack was coming.
“Haaap!”
“Hm?”
A sword appeared in the Sword Venerable’s hand.
But it was not a physical sword.
It was an invisible blade formed entirely from internal energy.
“I see.”
“You formed sword qi without a sword.”
Not a bad tactic.
No matter how excellent a weapon was, having it grabbed like Jin Gahui’s had been could become a serious problem.
Using sword techniques without an actual sword seemed like a reasonable solution.
“I’m learning quite a lot today.”
Asmodeus raised his right arm.
Imitating what he had just seen, he wrapped his arm in internal energy.
However...
he couldn’t form long sword qi like the Sword Venerable.
Still, he intended to use it to intercept the attack.
But...
"...?!"
The Sword Venerable suddenly vanished.
Asmodeus’s arm cut through empty air.
Where did he go?
It was surprising.
None of the Contractors Asmodeus had fought until now had ever moved so quickly that he completely lost sight of them.
Right!
He sensed a presence to his right.
Instinctively, Asmodeus swung his arm.
Once again...
he hit nothing.
"...!"
Then he felt pain.
“Damn...!”
The Sword Venerable was on his left.
His sword qi had pierced through Asmodeus’s left side.
[C-rank Constellation ‘Prince Who Killed His Father’ is shocked, unable to understand what just happened.]
[B-rank Constellation ‘Hunter Favored by the Moon Goddess’ rejoices that someone finally landed a proper attack on the demon.]
Messages from excited Constellations poured in.
But the Demon Venerable had no time to pay attention.
He needed every ounce of concentration to maintain the illusion technique.
I have to go all out!
In overall combat ability, the Three Venerables fell below Jin Gahui and Yang Weizheng.
However...
in the specific fields each specialized in, they possessed the highest level of skill in China.
For example, the Demon Venerable could cast illusions capable of deceiving even Asmodeus, a Demon God-class demon.
The Sword Venerable could create sword qi powerful enough to pierce Asmodeus’s body.
By combining those specialties...
the Demon Venerable could deceive Asmodeus.
Then the Sword Venerable could exploit the opening and inflict damage.
And...
“Haaap...!”
The Fist Venerable launched herself into the air.
Asmodeus was trapped inside the illusion.
He shouldn’t be able to properly perceive her movement.
BOOM! BOOM!
Two vicious kicks slammed into Asmodeus’s head.
If he were human, those blows would have shattered his skull or broken his neck...!
Of course, Asmodeus possessed an extraordinarily durable body.
Attacks at this level weren’t enough to break his skull or cervical vertebrae.
But...
His head moved!
If his body has a structure similar to a human’s...!
For the first time...
Asmodeus staggered.
His skull remained intact.
But the brain inside had still been shaken by the impact.
Now!
The Sword Venerable and Fist Venerable moved at the same time.
The Sword Venerable’s sword qi tore across Asmodeus’s chest.
The Fist Venerable’s fists struck his jaw and shoulder.
As Asmodeus staggered even more violently, the Demon Venerable finally unleashed an offensive spell.
“Haaat!”
The ground split apart.
Jagged rocks erupted from every direction and engulfed Asmodeus.
The rocks did more than injure him.
They clung to his body and restricted his movement.
Immediately afterward, the Sword Venerable and Fist Venerable continued their assault.
[B-rank Constellation ‘General Faster Than the Red Horse’ rejoices at the one-sided assault.]
[A-rank Constellation ‘Adventurous Sailor’ begins hoping they might actually have a chance.]
Quite a few Constellations spoke up as they watched Asmodeus being overwhelmed.
But...
[A-rank Constellation ‘Knight of the Cart’ shakes his head.]
[S-rank Constellation ‘Dragon-Slaying Immortal’ states that this still isn’t enough.]
The rocks restraining Asmodeus suddenly shattered all at once.
“Ugh...?!”
